Do you currently set goals and have a vision for the things you want to achieve in life? Do you imagine yourself looking better, feeling better or doing different things to what you're doing now?

If so, that's great! The steps required in achieving your ideal weight and health are exactly like any long term goal. Imagine you want to start your own business. It wouldn't happen overnight. You'd need a plan and to do research. You would need to choose which direction you want to go in, decide what you want to achieve, work out the steps you need to take to bring you closer to success and commit to making it happen.

The same principle applies having decided you want to take care of your health and weight. You need to set yourself goals and commit to them in order to make it happen!

Once you know what you want to achieve, when you want to achieve it by and why you want to achieve it and commit to achieving it, you can then focus on how to achieve it through following healthy eating principles. Then you can keep on track by asking yourself: "Is the choice I am about to make bringing me closer to my goal or taking me further away from it?"

So start setting some goals for yourself. Think about how much weight you want to lose, when you want to lose it by, what you are going to change to help you get there and how you are going to do it. Set yourself some targets but make sure they are realistic! For example you aren't going to lose two stone in two weeks, so there is no point in setting this as a goal. You will only end up demotivated. Choose a target that you can achieve in a realistic timeframe. Make your goals specific and measurable so you know exactly what you are trying to achieve and you can check your progress.

An example of a good goal would be:

I want to lose one stone in 10 weeks by following Sarah's healthy eating principles, or

I will exercise for half an hour three times a week by going for a walk after work for the next 10 weeks.

The goal says exactly what you will do, you can measure how you do along the way, it is achievable and realistic and it sets a timeframe to do it in.

So, think about what you want to achieve and set yourself some goals. Then write your goals down and keep them somewhere that you can see them regularly.